BY THE BEAUTIFUL SEA - Free Jazz Leadsheet

“by the beautiful sea,” sometimes sung with the refrain “by the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea,” was composed in 1914 with music by Harry Carroll and lyrics by Harold R. Atteridge. The tune was reportedly created during a seaside stay, which influenced its bright, rolling melodic contour meant to evoke waves and summertime leisure.

The first widely recognized recording appeared in 1914 by a popular vocal quartet of the era and quickly became a seasonal hit, inspiring multiple versions by contemporary orchestras and vocalists. Later revivals appeared in film musicals and mid-century pop interpretations. The song’s lyrics portray a cheerful romantic vignette between a couple enjoying carefree days at the shore, while its structure follows the early-20th-century verse-and-chorus pattern with a buoyant, easily memorized refrain that made it ideal for vaudeville stages and bandstand performances.